A Whole New World
by buttahbenzo-casualty
Summary: "Maybe I do want to see you cry yourself to sleep and look through old photos and be vulnerable for once." Hanna yells exhausted of the argument that has transpired between her and Emily.


"_Maybe I do want to see you cry yourself to sleep and look through old photos and be vulnerable for once." Hanna yells exhausted of the argument that has transpired between her and Emily._

* * *

It had been a year since all the torment and threats have come to an end.

_After an awful week inside the fenced perimeters of A's dollhouse, the girls had been finally set free by Charles. None of them had figured out why he would do such thing. After the trouble of betraying Mona, putting Alison to jail and abducting them, they didn't understand what his motives were. One by one they revealed the secrets they had kept safe among them for years. They would've been charged for The Jenna Thing and Shana's death and all other law violations they committed but then Tanner, who's finally come up to her senses, had made a bargain deal with the DA. In exchange for all their knowledge of Charles the girls would be granted full pardon. _

_Even though struggling to recover from the trauma, all 6 girls along with their bed buddies and in cooperation with the police they tried to fit the puzzles together in search for answers. It was Alison who had figured out Charles' game plan. He let the girls go because he was planning a big explosive battle to end it all and he wasn't planning for any of them to live, that was his endgame. The only question then was when._

_As each day unfolds the more unsafe they felt. They knew it was still part of his torture, to take away the freedom they have even when they're out in the open and with the police on their side. He was showing them that he was still in control and even more powerful than he already is. He showed off even more when he managed to abduct Alison this time on broad daylight and of all places, the Rosewood Police Precinct. A search was made in efforts to find Alison but while the authorities had no idea where she was, the liars received a cryptic message from the psycho that would lead them to where Alison was. Again they had made the mistake of not informing the police and rushed off to their friend's rescue._

"Emily where are you?" Hanna yells over the phone.

"I just went for a few laps in the pool. I'm on my way home now" Emily replies and not waiting for Hanna's reply she ended the call.

After a quick stop for coffee and muffins, Emily arrived in her and Hanna's shared apartment. Emily had bagged a swimming scholarship at Danby University and Hanna got a scholarship at Cicero College which was just adjacent to Emily's.

"I have coffee and muffins" Emily announced when she arrived. Hanna was packing her things up for their trip back home.

"Thanks. Have you started packing?" Emily's lack of answer was enough for Hanna to come up with the actual answer. "Em we're leaving in an hour come on get moving"

"Actually Han I might stay here. I have a meet in 2 weeks and if I want to be the anchor I would've to work hard on improving my time" Hanna's eyes grew wide at Emily's calmness of the news she had just broken

"WHAT? Em! Even Spencer and Aria are coming home to visit Alison. Have you forgotten what tomorrow is?" Emily just moved past Hanna and sat down on the couch flipping through the channels. "Emily Fields!"

"I know what tomorrow is okay? How could I forget? I just have so much to do. It doesn't matter if I come home or not anyways" Emily switches the channel again and it lands on the news.

'**Tomorrow: 1****st**** Anniversary of A's End'** bold letters were written in front of the screen and the news caster was saying something about it but none of those registered on Emily as her memories came flashing back.

_Now armed with knowledge of Charles' background and familiarity of the doll house they thought they could outsmart him but they were so wrong. Charles had set traps for them on a maze of a doll house he had. It was a race of time to find Alison. Determined to save her, Emily found her way to Alison. On their way out to find the rest of the girls they went inside the wrong door and was left trapped inside a steel-walled door. Soon after the door on the opposite side of the room opened revealing Hanna, Aria and Spencer, the 3 other girls also falling for the trap. Temporary happiness came over them when they had seen Alison but fear sank in them when the door opened again with Charles himself walking cockily towards them. On in his left hand was the key card for the doors and it was Alison who had the keen eye to see it. Slowly Charles pulled off his mask revealing himself to be no other than Andrew Campbell. With ferocity in his tone he spoke to the girls. He blamed Alison for everything that has happened in the past. _

_Before he became Andrew Campbell, he was Charles Dilaurentis, a brother to Jason, Alison and…Rachel Dilaurentis, the other forgotten sibling and his twin. Alison had always been their father's princess. When Alison was born their father had sent Rachel, even at a young age, to a mental institute because she had been diagnosed of some mental illness and he had feared that she would bring harm to the newborn. Being twins, they had just a connection within them and so Charles dreamed to have had Rachel come home someday. Months after treatment, Rachel was allowed to come home for a trial visit that might have been permanent if the results were pleasing or so they were told. Truth was, the mental institute was closing and the patients were advised to be transferred to a different facility. The first few days went by without trouble but then a terrible incident happened. Young Rachel was annoyed by Alison's cries and so she tried to silence her. Her first attempt was to feed the baby with milk but still Alison refuses to stop crying. What she did next changed the lives of the Dilaurentis Family. Rachel covered Alison's face with pillows. Satisfactory smile was on Rachel's face but not of Charles' when he had seen them. He took out the fort of pillows piled on Alison in efforts to save his sister from trouble but it was already too late, Alison had stopped breathing. When their father came by panic shot through him when he saw his baby girl so pale and not breathing. Alison was brought to the hospital and was saved but when she was brought home, gone were the twins already. To evade shame and to start fresh the Dilaurentis Family moved back from Connecticut to their old home of Rosewood, Pennsylvania. They had put the twins on a mental institution on the same town called Radley Sanitarium but for their secret to be kept they had changed the twins' names; Rachel became Bethany Young and Charles became Nick Maxwell. To keep their secret even more hidden they became benefactors of the mental institute and at one point Jessica took a seat in the board._

_Since he didn't really have a mental condition, a nurse took pity on Charles. Knowing his parents were close to having him forgotten, she made up a story of him getting terribly sick and died then took him under her care and later on gave up for adoption to the Campbell Family; and so Andrew Campbell existed. Jessica and Kenneth were made to believe that their son died in Radley. Even when he had become Andrew he had never forgotten about his twin. He had promised her that she would eventually get out one day. Andrew witnessed what his other siblings have grown to become, a queen bee and an alcoholic. He loathed how his parents chose to lock them on a mental institute when he could've been better than his other siblings. It was the evening of Jason's prom when Rachel, now known as Bethany, had first escaped. He crossed paths with her before the staff of Radley found her. He had easily recognized her upon seeing her but she has forgotten about him. It got him enraged. Radley had made a different person out of her sister and it was all because of their parents choosing Alison over her. From then on he would make secret visits to Bethany. On one event he witnessed Cece Drake at the Sanitarium claiming to be Alison Dilaurentis. Not long after Jessica arrived only to find out that it was all just a prank._

_For a long time he thought about his revenge. He just stopped when Alison went missing. When he found out what Mona did, he took over her game and made it more deadly. All he had to do was to make the girls' secret out in the open and wait for the repercussions to follow. He hired people to be on the A team and he had no worries of letting the game go on as he wanted. But he had to put his game up on one more level when it was found out that Alison is alive. He then made his research and figured out that it was his twin that was on the grave. He found out that after Jessica buried Alison when Bethany hit her, she took her inside her home until the people from Radley could come. But when Jessica went out and found the grave she buried Alison empty, she panicked. There was only one solution that came to her mind. She looked for the yellow top identical to Alison's but was disappointed when she couldn't find it, turns out Alison found it first and gave it away to Cece Drake for her to wear on their upcoming prank. Much luck on her side Cece appeared on her front door looking for Alison. She pulled the girl inside and without much choice told her what happened. Eager to find Alison, Cece agreed to Jessica's plan. They made Bethany dress up like Alison and then Jessica ended up hitting her with a shovel in the head. Melissa found her and buried her thinking it was Alison and that Spencer hit her._

"_Enough of this story telling, none of it would matter when this ends anyways. Our parents were always protective of you Alison and not just them, your perfectly gathered posse too. So now they too shall pay the price of being on the wrong side. Once that door closes you'll only have 15 minutes of your lives and soon you'll blow up along this doll house." Charles said full of viciousness. He turned his back and started to walk away but as soon as he did Alison came running to him and took the key card of the door from him. She tossed the key card to Emily._

"_Girls run!" Despite her small stature she wrestled with Andrew. Kicked on his groin Andrew dropped down to his knees. Alison took the opportunity to run away._

"_You're all making a big mistake. You'll never find your way out" Andrew screamed but the girls were already away. Not wanting to be trapped inside the room he rushed to slip just in time before the door closed triggering the clock on the bomb to count down._

"Em, it's been a year. You can stop pretending like what happened didn't affect you a bit" Hanna was trying to be sympathetic for Emily but the other girl doesn't see it that way.

"What are you saying? I'm not pretending into anything. I'm not made of glass. I won't break anytime just like what you people think." Emily snapped.

"Not pretending? Yeah right." Hanna rolled her eyes and shook her head. Not wanting to say anything more that would offend Emily she walked back to her room and continued packing.

"What's that supposed to mean? What do you want from me Hanna? Tears? You want me to mope around and stop my life just because what happened, happened?" This was not the first time the two girls had the conversation but it was only this time that Emily went further with it.

"Well maybe that's it Emily. Maybe I do want to see you cry yourself to sleep and look through old photos and be vulnerable for once." Hanna yells exhausted of the argument that has transpired between her and Emily. "You spent your time in therapy of your shoulder while we can't even eat because of the trauma that fucking psycho has done to us. You preferred to stay close to Rosewood while Spencer and Aria took the first opportunity to leave. You focused yourself on swimming and studies and nothing else."

"Oh I'm sorry for actually living a normal life and moving on Ms. Marin" Their voices raised to the skies

"This is not moving on Emily, you're holding it in. I stayed by your side because I know you would need me but instead you built walls around yourself." Hanna stated the obvious fact

"I never forced you to stay Hanna you decided that for yourself." Emily countered.

"This wouldn't go anywhere. I'm coming home with or without you. Will you please leave? I need to pack my things" With that Emily left Hanna's room and shut the blonde's door with force. She plopped herself on the couch and stared at the photo on the far corner of the room. It was the photo of the 5 of them back in the years.

_As the girls ran through the direction where none of them had run yet, Mona teamed up with Cece to track down their friends. Both girls knew what the liars were up to and how dangerous it was, when finally Mona cracked down Charles' code to cloak the girls' location, she gave it to the police and they all rushed off to rescue the girls._

"_I see a door at the end of that Alley" Aria announced_

"_But there's also another one right there" Hanna pointed out the door on the opposite direction where Aria was looking_

"_Where do we go?" they were feeling hopeless and were running out of time_

"_The less obvious way is the right way" Alison said. Without further discussions they ran through the alley Hanna had pointed out. At the end of alley was indeed an exit but it was locked with a digital password combination that neither of them had an idea what it was._

"_Damn it!" Spencer cursed. "What could the combination be?!"_

"_His birthday?" Hanna with her humor suggested_

"_He wouldn't be that dumb Han" Aria commented_

"_No that's it. Hanna's right" Alison said like thousand of light bulb lit up on her head. "He did this all for vengeance, for Bethany, then it would make sense if he used her birthday as combination and since they're twins they would have the same birthday"_

"_No problem then. I know Andrew's birthday" Spencer was about to key in the digits when Alison stopped her_

"_Not his birthday as Andrew, his birthday as Charles" Alison pointed out. They all sighed in defeat._

"_Where's Emily?" Hanna asked looking around. _

"_She did not" They all looked at each other "I'll find her. Go look for alternative exits" before anyone could say anything Alison ran back to where they came from but stopped for a moment "Oh and girls…thank you for everything and I'm sorry for dragging you in this mess. No matter what happens, save Emily"_

_While the other girls were discussing what the combination was, Emily slipped away and thought of an alternative solution. Time's running out and if they can't escape then the only option left is to stop the bomb from detonating. She ran back to find Andrew. She met him halfway. Apparently he was looking for them too and this time with a gun on his hand. Putting her fears aside she attacked him. They fought for the gun. Shots were fired in different directions and the sound of it was what Alison followed. When she found them Emily managed to pull the control of the bomb from Andrew. The time was down to a minute before detonation; police have surrounded the area but are unable to enter because of the lock. Caleb and Mona were trying hard to hack the security system._

"_Alison take the control" Emily kicked the control that had fallen on the ground to Alison's direction. Just when they had 3 seconds left Alison was able to press the abort detonation button. Their success distracted Andrew and so Emily was able to take hold of the gun and pulled the trigger on Andrew. He fell on the ground bleeding. Alison and Emily ran to each other's arms and were wrapped in a tight hug._

Hanna stepped out of her room with her bags on hand. She gave one last lingering look on Emily before heading for the main door. She was just about to open the door when Emily spoke up.

"She's gone Hanna. Alison's gone…and even if I come home, nothing would change that" Emily said with her voice not breaking even for a second.

"It's not about changing what happened Em, it's about remembering her the best way we know." Hanna knows Emily was just trying put out a front but she's fed up of trying to break through Emily's walls.

"I went to her funeral Han" Hanna's head whipped so fast and stared at Emily like she's grown two heads

"That's it? You went to her funeral? This is Alison, your first and one true love we're talking about. Where's the Emily who cries over romantic movies and hurt pets? Where did your compassion go? Emily when she first disappeared you couldn't even get out of your bed and stop crying. That's even the reason why we fell apart, because it was so hard to be around each other without her with us. When Maya died you couldn't go out in your own backyard. You had to join that summer program at Haiti with what's her name and partied almost each night. You drank your way to moving on. If I didn't know you better I might have believed you for a second but I know you and how important Alison was to you." Hanna was already crying at the end of what she was saying but Emily remained poker faced

"Is Hanna, how important Alison is to me. Ever since that day at the doll house I haven't shed a tear, not even a drop. I'm heartbroken, a lot more than heartbroken to be honest but I'm sorry if I don't grieve the same way as you do. You may know the best way to remember her but I have my own ways Han." The two girls looked each other in the eye and Emily was dead serious of what she had said.

"Then I'll do it my way too. See you around" Hanna went on her way leaving Emily alone on their apartment.

* * *

Emily thought hard of what Hanna said. Her friend was right. It didn't look like she was actually grieving. Truth is, she wasn't. She made herself believe that Alison is alive somewhere else and someday she and her would meet again. They were supposed to have a happy ending, she was big on that and Ali loved it most of her, and so in her mind she kept telling herself they would have their happy ending. The day after Alison's funeral she made the girls breakfast after her morning run. She considered it like it was just another ordinary day. She talked to her parents about having her shoulder therapy. She wrote a letter to Danby in addition to her letter of application. She got herself back on the pool until she was fitted to swim competitively. Her parents tried to convince her to take a vacation with them on Texas but she declined. Zoe came to town when she heard the news and offered Emily to join her on another program in Asia but she turned it down too. Once she left Rosewood temporarily for college in York County with Hanna she didn't want to come back, at least not when Spencer or Aria is in town. She and Hanna were the ones who took the longest time to leave. Two months after Alison died, which was exactly a month after graduation, Spencer left for Columbia and not long after Aria left for SCAD. One year has passed and yet there she was, still in denial.

She skipped her morning run on that day and dressed up. All networks on TV were buzzing with news of Alison's 1st death anniversary. She rolled her eyes at it and turned it off. She had a long day ahead of her.

She drove around for a few hours before reaching her first destination, the doll house. It was now more of an abandoned space. The yellow police tape was still on its perimeter and hasn't been totally taken down. She lifted it up just enough for her to pass through it. She entered the house and touched the walls she walked by. Each step she took reminded her a lot of last year's events.

_Finally it was all over, they could now have their happy ending…or not. Unknown to the two girls Andrew slowly reached out for the gun and aimed it to them, but Alison had visual and immediately shifted positions with Emily. When Andrew pulled the trigger it was Alison who got hit. She had taken the bullet for her mermaid. Emily caught Alison before she fell. Another gun shots were fired but this time from the police who was now inside the building._

Emily tried to find the spot in her heart to let her emotions out but she must have had held back too much because she can't find it anymore. She knows what she's feeling she just don't know how to act on it nor how to express it. She takes a final look at the place and left a stem of sunflower before going back to her car. After another hour of driving she arrives at the barn where Alison saved her and left another stem of sunflower before going to Andrew's grave. She wanted to curse him kill him over and over again but she knows it would be illogical. She had said it already nothing could change what has happened in the past. She walked through different tombstones until she finds the one she was looking for, Alison's.

"It's the first time that I had the courage to show up here and visit you. I miss you Ali. I miss you so much and my heart breaks every day. I went to see the doll house, the barn and Andrew's grave before I came here. I don't know. I guess I just wanted to feel something. I want to cry but it seems like my tears have dried up and I'm too numb to feel." Emily sat down in front of Alison's grave placing the sunflowers she got for her. "You know I live with Hanna now. Sometimes it's a curse to live with her, partly because she can read me like an open book and because she's Hanna but it's also a blessing for the same reasons. Maybe by now the girls have seen each other already but I don't know if they've been here though. I'd never know because I haven't seen them yet. I haven't seen Spencer and Aria for a while. It's just hard to be together with them though I know I need them. It makes it more real and I don't want it to be real. I don't want you dead Ali. I want you here beside me. I'm not coming home for your death anniversary. I don't want to come home for it. When you died a big part of me died too. I lost my heart and the capacity to have emotions. There's so much more you can do than just leaving me you know. Sometimes it's okay to stay…but why didn't you?" Emily stood up and wiped away her jeans. She started walking away but turned back for a moment. "I love you Ali, always will."

After visiting Alison Emily went on her one last destination, the kissing rock. She looked for their initials and brushed her fingers on it. She sat on the rock and thought of the moment when she and Alison shared a passionate kiss. She closed her eyes and let the wind blow on her face trying to remember how Ali's lips once felt on hers. She stood up and cleaned the surrounding ground beside the rock and sat in there leaning her back against the rock. She took out her phone and plugged her earphones. She had 3 songs saved on her playlist for this day. 1000 Times and Gravity both by Sara Bareilles and Make You Feel My Love by Adele. Listening to the songs on repeat she took out the book _'Great Expectations by Charles Dickens'_ and read it until she fell into slumber.

It was starting to get dark when Emily woke up. Not wanting to end her time alone just yet, she drove to a nearby pizza place where she and Alison went alone when they were younger and ordered the latter's favorite meal. When she was ready to see the others, she drove home.

She was right; her friends indeed were seated on the couch across her bed waiting for her inside her bedroom when she arrived.

"My mom said you were waiting for me. How did you know I was in town?" Her friends looked at her with pity but Emily remained neutral.

"We saw you at Alison's grave earlier. You were talking to her and we didn't want to disturb you so we stayed away until you left" Spencer explained

"You were gone for hours, where were you?" Hanna, being the most concerned about Emily asked bluntly earning a ferocious glare from Spencer and Aria.

"Remember that summer when we were by the lake and Ali was picking on Lucas? When you girls weren't paying attention Ali and I sneaked to the rock. She made up some story that for hundreds of years couples kiss in there and the spirits watch over you compelling you to do so. We painted our initials on the kissing rock and we shared a kiss. It had been our spot ever since." Emily sat down opposite to them. "Alison was a terrible person when she was still alive. She lied a lot and bullied a lot of people. Her dying doesn't necessarily absolve her of all the horrid things she's done…but she was my terrible person. And she died because of me, because she saved me."

"Ali was a lot of things but she was actually nicer than what most people think. It's hard for us Em and we know it's far harder for you because you love her the most" Aria spoke up for the first time.

"The last conversation I had with Ali, the one before her death, she called me from prison. She asked me if it was raining and I just told her yes it was raining, that's that. I should have told her how cold it felt without her. I should've talked to her more. We never had the chance to talk again, just the two of us. We got caught up with planning on how to bring Charles down. The last time I was alone with her you know what I said to her? I told her that I was done with her. Damn it! I should've believed her more. She said she was gonna make it right, that she'll find out who –A was." Emily bit her lip hard due to her heightened annoyance of herself. She wouldn't admit it but she blamed herself for Alison's death.

"We understand that it's hard Em but you don't have to shut us out. You just don't know it but up to this day I still cry over her death" Hanna brought back the topic of argument she and Emily had

"You don't get it. If I start crying I don't think I'll ever stop. She died and we never had the chance to sort out what we had. We weren't together. She isn't my ex-girlfriend, she's an ex-something, an ex-maybe, an ex-almost. I don't know what we were and now I'll never know. She's gone. I thought when it was all over I'd have all the time in the world to sort it out with her. I thought I'd spend the next 30 years alongside her living our happy ending. We were supposed to get away in Paris until forever you know." After a long time, Emily's voice started to break for the first time.

"It doesn't matter what you were Em. What's important is that you love her and she loved you back more than anything else." Hanna assured Emily.

"I don't think I'll ever love anyone as much as I love Ali no matter how alike they might be" Emily sighed as she spoke

"There'll be no one else like Ali" Spencer stated a complete fact

"How's Mr. Dilaurentis and Jason holding up?" Emily changed the subject at hand

"They've been through so much just like us but they're slowly getting back on their feet." Spencer was the one to answer.

"They were looking for you" Aria informed Emily. "Do you want us to drive you by Ali's?"

"I think that would be nice" Emily said trying to keep herself together before meeting Alison's family after a year since her death.

The girls were welcomed warmly by Kenneth and Jason. Emily was tightly hugged by the two men. Kenneth who missed her daughter have considered Alison's friends as her own especially Emily. He blamed himself for everything that has happened. He had made a monster out of his own child when he only thought what he did was for the greater good. Jason, although not having a good relationship with Kenneth before, stayed around for support. He knew was the only family Kenneth had left. Kenneth apologized to him for the past and told Jason that he was his son and no one else could convince him otherwise. They are both trying to move on from the mistakes of the past.

"I'm glad to see you Emily" Jason declared smiling at Emily

"You girls can take whatever memento you want in Alison's room. I'm afraid Jason and I could never get through her stuff. I think its best if you girls do it" Kenneth informed them before he and Jason left the girls to give them some privacy.

"Em? Do you want us with you?" Hanna placed a gentle hand on Emily's shoulder as she asked

"I think I have to do this on my own" The 3 girls nodded and Emily bravely took little steps to the stairs. Going to Alison's bedroom brings back a lot of memories Emily isn't sure her heart is ready for. She opens the door and sees nothing really has changed. There's still that distinct fragrance that seem to mark that it was Ali's. Her eyes roamed around before her sight got caught on the bed. She remembers that night. The night she and Ali made love after the blonde had confessed that the feeling was mutual. It was their first and apparently their last. If only she knew. She sat on Alison's bed and across her was a picture frame that held a picture of them girls.

She thought about how Alison's bed is un-slept, its covers pulled tight and pillows fluffed. She thought about all the things inside Alison's room would never be touched nor used. Her emotions are starting to build up and she doesn't do anything about it. Maybe this is all what she needed, maybe she really had to let the idea of Ali gone dwell on her. She needs to accept it now.

She was about to stand up when she unintentionally kicked something under the bed. She ducked down to see what it was. When she stood up again she had with her a box that she haven't seen before in Ali's room. The lid of it was labeled '_Emily Fields_'. Opening the box the first thing she sees is the purple bracelet with her name on it that Alison once gave her on top of a post card of the Eiffel Tower. Beside it is Alison's copy of '_Great Expectation_'. She saw a paper sticking out between the pages and so she pulled it out. It was a letter written by Ali.

**_My sweet Emily,_**

**_By now I am used to the feeling of spending holidays alone but seeing you tonight with Paige on Christmas Eve with the girls and their other halves, I have never felt the loneliest. I have completely lost you, not that you were mine in the first place. I'm not just saying this because you're with Paige. I'm saying this because I know I've hurt you too much and even when this game of –A comes to an end I don't know if we could stop the pain that we've already been carrying. I am a mess Em, ruined and a disaster and I know I don't deserve you but I love you._**

**_If I could go back, things would be so much different or I guess not if –A was still around. You just don't know how hard it was to pretend at the locker room. I had to push you away because I had to protect you. –A had threatened to expose our kiss in the library if I continued what I had with you. I didn't care for what people would say about me. I cared about what people would say about you. I always knew you were different, a special kind different, but I also knew not everyone would be so keen about it. I want you to know that our kisses were never just for practice. I had feelings for you Em since the day that I met you. This sounds crazy but I wanted to be your friend the mere second that I saw you._**

**_I have no idea where –A's game would lead to, all I know is I have to keep you safe all the time. If I have to end it on my own, I would. Maybe this is what's supposed to happen for now. Maybe we'll meet again, when we're slightly older and our minds less hectic, and I'll be right for you, and you'll be right for me. But right now I am chaos to your thoughts, and you are poison to my heart._**

**_I love you Emily Fields; my mermaid, my killer, my first and only love._**

**_Ali_**

Emily folded the paper again and pressed the paper to her lips before putting it on her heart. Finally Emily lets it out, her tears finally falling.

She returned the letter to the page were it was inserted. There were more things inside the box but she chose to pick up the photo of her and Alison. When she flipped the photo she saw that Alison had written something on its back. She read it out loud.

"I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be."

Hanna, Spencer and Aria discreetly made their way upstairs to Alison's room. The door was open halfway. From a far they could already hear Emily's loud sobs. They silently opened the door fully. They saw Emily crying hard with her and Alison's photo on her hand. They didn't say anything to comfort her because they knew it was what their friend needed. Instead they themselves cried too.

After a year, they were going off into their new lives. In a world that –A doesn't exist anymore. In a world where they were free and in a world where they will always have each other. But for Emily it would also be a world where she would spend her entire lifetime missing and loving the person who didn't just mean the world to her but was really her world. Alison Lauren Dilaurentis.

"_Ali, hey, hey look at me. It's over. We're safe now." Emily sat down and cradled Alison's upper body._

"_I love you Em" Alison breathed out the words_

"_And I love you too so you have to make it through this okay? There's still a lot we have to talk about. You can't leave me again Alison." Emily's voice was stern when she spoke Alison's name._

"_I'm sorry…for…everything" Alison's voice was going weaker. By this time the girls have found them and was drowning in their own tears of what they were witnessing "I loved…you…against reason…against promise…against peace…against hope…against happiness…against…all discouragement…that could be"_

"_Pip got Estella in the end, I know. I remember that day at the library, or that day at the kissing rock or that night in your room. I still have the snow globe you gave me. I remember you saving me at the barn and telling me I'm the hardest one to leave behind so stay Ali. Stay." With the little strength she had left Alison kissed her index and middle finger and then placed it over Emily's lips. "You and me sweet Paris?"_

"_How long…are we going…away for?" it was only a matter of time before Alison runs out of air_

"_How about forever?" Alison could only nod at Emily's answer. With one last smile Alison closed her eyes and never to open them again. Emily burst in more tears and so did the girls. She bent down and pressed her lips to Ali's before hugging her without intentions of letting her go until she had to._


End file.
